Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Orchha Ride

This is Orchha, a small hidden treasure in Madhya Pradesh. It was wonderful to leave behind civilization and ride into the jungles.

Royal Enfield Bullet can surely make it's own way through the wilderness.

Orchha is a very small town studded with magnificent structures. Some of these temples and palaces are very well maintained. A definite treat to the eye. The best part about Orchha... it is non-touristy.

The legend meets history... in Orchha.

On my way to the beautiful (and hidden) hill-station called Shivpuri. Shivpuri was never part of the initial plan but after reading about it in a Madhya Pradesh tourism brochure I decided to take the detour. With views like this on the highway... I must say it was totally worth it.

That is Madhav National Park near Shivpuri. A protected water body of the National Park.

That is my motorcycle on the super-boring Yamuna Expressway.

The rider and the machine...

Orchha is just 16 KM away from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.

Well things took an unexpected turn shortly after this pit-stop. The motor-cycle started showing signs of exhaustion! Shivpuri is a small hill-station and the motor-cycle began to give up on me while climbing up the hills. It was indeed scary... fortunately there was a Royal Enfield Bullet Mechanic in Shivpuri.

The intake valves were leaking...

The problem was resolved after almost four hours of work. I am so glad I found a good mechanic in this small town. That is the best thing about Royal Enfield Bullet... you can find mechanics almost everywhere in India.

On the way back to Delhi. Sadly because of the repair downtime I couldn't see much of Shivpuri. Anyways, that gives us a reason to return.